I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, (2) with all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love, (3) endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  (4) There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;  

The letter to the EPHESIANS was written by the Apostle Paul while he was a prisoner in Rome and was probably circulated to the faithful in Asia Minor.

Chapters one through three of the letter are doctrinal and – as Is typical Pauline – chapter four concerns the practical application of dogma. In our verses Paul addresses the new man/woman in faith in Christ.  God’s will was to being together hostile groups – Gentiles and Jews- in Christian unity. This was Paul’s insight into the mystery of Christ – the Gentiles are now fellow heirs to heaven in Jesus. The Jews had always held themselves apart as the chosen of God and now Paul teaches the radical truth that both groups have a common relationship with the triune God – fellowship and unity is to be in those who are born again, based on shared life in Christ Jesus And His church.

Paul is not talking about organizational or denominational unity but rather organic unity and it is the faithful who are the church, not a place of bricks and mortar.  The church should be unified over the Gospel and doctrines of the faithful – it should not be divided over minor matters. Our instructions in today’s verses are not just the duties of the Christian but a natural outgrowth of the salvation God has already accomplished in Christ Jesus.  The new identity which the faithful receives in Christ Is the basis for their behavior.  The faithful have gone from being at home in the world and strangers to God to their new status as children of God through faith in Christ – they are now strangers and pilgrims in this world.

There is One God, the father of all believers. If God is father, we faithful are as brothers and sisters- we all submit to God as our sovereign Lord. The faithful must see in others God’s work and must respect them – we must see others differently and in spiritual community. The faithful have been called to walk in humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance and love – the gifts of the Spirit we receive at the moment we believe – and words that apply to our relationships as seen through the lens of dogma. We have a relational membership in Christ’s church not a relative status. Christ is the means by which God has provided for our salvation.  He is also the standard for our spirituality and conduct

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  (14) For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, (15) having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, (16) and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.  (17) And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.  (18) For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father. 

The letter to the Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul and our verses today concern Gods sovereign purpose of reconciliation of man to Himself and to each other.   Paul is dealing with the Jewish and Gentile factions in the early Church.  The nation of Israel felt that they were the chosen people of God – not by merit but by Gods grace.  The religious and ethnic pride of the Jews created huge social and cultural differences between the Jews and all others – the Gentiles.  God’s solution was the cross  – Christ is the only source of peace because only Christ can deal with sin.  in Him the Old Covenant law was abolished and the “new man” is justified through Faith.

Paul addresses the Christian Gentiles in Ephesus reminding them that they were excluded from Israel, “strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” as a result of sin.  But now a radical change in thinking is required of both Jew and Gentile. The Jews believed the Gentiles were damned and the barriers between them were absolute – that if Gentiles were to be saved it could only be as a Jewish proselyte.  Fellowship and intimacy between Jew and Gentile was nearly impossible and the law of Moses created a barrier. Now Paul is saying that in Christ that separating wall is removed.

This new, unexpected, radical thinking – that all believers are one because all are saved in the same way by the same person, Christ Jesus.  Gentiles are not just reconciled to God but all believers are reconciled to each other by the Spirit.  We are none of us in isolation but joined to God and to each other in Christ who alone is the key to reconciliation.  And only through Christ is peace between men possible.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (4) just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, (5) having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, (6) to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.  (7) In Him we have redemption through His blood,the forgiveness of sins, according to The riches of His grace (8) Which He made to abound to us in all wisdom and prudence, (9) having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, (10) that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth – in Him.  (11) In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, (12) that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.   (13) In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel,of your salvation, in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, (14) who is the guarantor of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His  glory.

The letter to the Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul. In today’s verses, Paul tells us that through through faith in Christ, from the moment we are saved, God blesses us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. We, the faithful, have been chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Som and our salvation is sealed by the indwelling Spirit who gives us confidence and joy in our inheritance.

We have already been told why God has destined us to be saved – to being glory to God. The whole Bible is Gods word to us and His final revelation in Christ Jesus.   “Depart from me as I am a sinful man” says Peter to the Lord. This is true for all men but through Christ we are made right with God. It is all from God; there is nothing man can do to earn salvation – it is all a gift called grace. All glory comes from God through the saving merits of Christ

Spiritual blessings wait for the saved in heavenly places, not with physical and material blessings on earth and Paul writes the wonderful words of praise for God from prison. Paul is intent on eternal heavenly blessings, not on this world – And in this he teaches us how to handle suffering.  We need praise, adoration and gratitude to God in our daily lIves.  This is what God wants us to do.   Our text describes Gods purpose for human history – to sum up all things in Christ. The faithful exist through Christ and they exist for the glory of God.

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.  (8) Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  (9) And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  (10) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The second letter to the Corinthians was written by the Apostle Paul.  In the verses we study today Paul is responding to the attacks on his integrity and on his divinely authorized apostleship.  Paul tells of his most sacred of experiences – of visions and revelations from Christ the Lord.  He does not boast of these but refers to himself in the third person – “I know of a man in Christ….” – his point being that he, Paul, could not claim credit for any of these experiences.  He was purely passive.  But while these were sacred to Paul, they could also generate spiritual pride and Paul tells us that the counter weight to the revelations – a direct result of his numerous glorious experiences – was a nagging, persistent and painful problem – “a thorn in the flesh”.  And we are told that the thorn has a satanic source.

Paul does not want to glory in his experience but is apparently forced by the extreme situation in Corinth to even mention these visions.  Paul glories in nothing but his own weakness.  He speaks of it because of the spiritual significance – it actually explains the evil and the good of suffering.  Through Gods grace Paul’s strength is made perfect in his weakness – the power of this grace outweighs the trial of a thorn in his flesh so much so that this, not his visions, is the matter of which he boasts.  This is the triumph of Christ’s spirit within him:  God’s grace is given to those who accept His will.